News & Events

Butterfly Bank work begins at the St Anne's Site

Sussex Wildlife Trust's Youth Rangers were out in force yesterday, despite the weather, beginning to turn the earth for the new butterfly bank.

Sussex Wildlife Trust's Youth Rangers were out in force yesterday, despite the weather, beginning to turn the earth for the new butterfly bank. The team are removing soil on the site’s south facing slope to expose the chalk beneath and encourage the growth of special chalk downland plants such as horseshoe vetch and kidney vetch. It’s hoped that these plants will attract butterflies including chalkhill blue and adonis blue.

They are following a pattern for the butterfly bank painted on the slope by Lewes artist Mark Greco and inspired by the local landscape. The chalk slopes of the old grounds provide the perfect site to establish a butterfly bank, creating a green corridor to help butterflies and other wildlife move more freely between the town and the surrounding countryside.

St Anne’s old school grounds can be used and enjoyed by the community all year round. Managed by the St Anne’s Steering Group and leased to voluntary organisation 3VA for an initial one-year period, local groups and organisations can apply to make use of the site by contacting stannes@3va.org.uk